I often see retaining walls. If I had to guess a percentage I would say that about half have some movement. In this case, it's a darn good thing there is a retaining tree!

This tree has been on the job a long time!

I see fences all the time that are held up by vines and plants.

I see sheds all the time that are held up by vines and plants.

But I have seldom, if ever, seen a retaining wall held up by a tree!

And this wall frames a working driveway and garden!

This tree is important!

Another couple of years and maybe another one will be needed. Maybe two or three!

They should think ahead!

Let's see, what kind of tree would be best?

Should this wall be repaired? Doing so might actually harm this tree! And then it would have no reason to live.

My recommendation: sometimes things look bad, but really might not be! In this case, though, a couple of more 40 year-old trees might be advisable!

Actually you can see that the wall is crumbling around the tree. How much longer will the wall last? I am being tongue in cheek about it being held up well and that only a couple of trees are needed. When this collapses it will be a mess, and the driveway will not be usable. It's probably best to get a real wall there now! I don't know who has responsibility for the wall, but when replaced, obviously, it will need a good guardrail!

Comments

Guessing from the construction, this is an "olden days" wall...not the ever popular locking blocks that we see now...walls can really be attractive with trailing greens and multi-textured....certainly soon that scene will replace this one.

I wonder if the tree to the right may be causing some of the problems. Not knowing how close it is could the roots be pushing the wall? It is interesting on the placement of the tree by purpose or accident

Good morning, Jay. How about some tulip poplar trees? They grow fast and the flowers are amazingly beautiful every spring. You can purchase a nice mature one for about $30. Cheaper than the thousands needed to replace the wall. Get with the program man...

Jay: Walls like that are commonplace everywhere. Can you address what would be needed behind the wall to contain all the dirt in another post? Also, didn't even think about the guardrail until you mentioned it. I was too dostracted by the wall!

Posted by Anne M. Costello (Weidel Realtors) about 7 years ago

Anne - codes change but I suspect this wall would have required a guardrail when it was installed. It is high. It is also at the edge of a big property and not in town, so no County person has probably seen it. But again, I don't know who the all belongs to!

I see a lot of this type of retaining walls in the older part of the city. I've wondered for years not if, but when were they going to fall onto the sidewalk. A lot of them around here have those big trees in the yard above the wall. Scary stuff.

Jay -- yes, just planting more leaning trees won't help much with more soggy weather - unless there are some retaining bars between the trees. Nope, new wall, properly constructed and drained is really the only answer - short of removing lots and lots of dirt.

I always hate reporting on retaining walls. How long will they last? Who knows. When I moved in to my last house about eight years ago, one of my neighbors had a retaining wall by the road that I was sure would collapse any day. After walking by it every day, I found it never moved an inch.

Posted by Reuben Saltzman, Delivering the Unbiased Truth. (Structure Tech Home Inspections) about 7 years ago

Hi Jay,

Good thing this was a strong tree. Maybe that was the plan from the beginning and the orginal owners had the good sense to pick a sturdy one!

Hope your 2011 is ending well and your 2012 is a healthy, happy, and successful year for you!